Monthly archives: February, 2018

Thank you Rocky Levy and Aaron Tvrdy, co-owners of Icon Modern, for organizing a workshop focused on urbanwood use for architects, designers and architectural woodworkers. It was great to see more than two dozen in attendance at this special event. Rocky and Aaron have done a tremendous job of pioneering urbanwood use in corporate projects and are currently working on furnishings for the new McDonald’s headquarters.

Read and see photos from the workshop in this month’s edition of the Illinois UrbanWoodUpdate.

Also in this edition of the Update:
> Tom The Sawyer demonstrates milling an urban honey locust log.> Michigan, one of our UrbanWood Network partners, launches a new website. Congrats!

> Dovetail Partners takes the lead on creating certification standards for urbanwood.

Featured presenters Bruce and Erika Horigan, co-owners of Horigan Urban Forest Products in Skokie discussed the urban wood supply chain from sources and removal through environmental impact and benefits of putting community trees to their highest possible use.

The event included a tour of Icon Modern’s showroom and fabrication shop where work is in progress to convert urban-sourced hickory trees into fine furnishings for the new McDonald’s corporate headquarters.

Thanks to Rocky Levy and his partner Aaron Tvrdy for a very informative evening and for doing their part to spared the word about the opportunities and benefits of using urban wood in architectural wood products.

A new initiative to support increased urban wood utilization and community benefits has been launched. The project will develop a unified urban wood certification strategy with the goal of aligning existing programs that recognize responsible management practices in the urban forest. Existing urban forestry programs range from accreditation and licensing to training and certification programs.

“We’re not starting with a blank slate,” said project manager, Kathryn Fernholz, executive director of Minneapolis-based Dovetail Partners. “There are many high-quality existing programs that support the practice of urban and utility forestry – from Tree City USA and Tree Line USA to Arborist certifications – and we’re looking at how these programs support shared goals and can respond to the growing interest in urban wood and responsible sourcing.”

The intent of the project is to develop a certification process to be incorporated into existing professional and accreditation standards, adopted by municipalities, and embraced by tree-related operations within urban forests including arboriculture businesses and wood processors.

Partners of the project include the Arbor Day Foundation, Society of Municipal Arborists, Tree Care Industry Association, Utility Arborists Association, Right-of-Way Stewardship Council, Dovetail Partners, North Carolina Forest Service and the USDA Forest Service. Support for the project is provided by the North Carolina Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program and the USDA Forest Service.

The project also seeks to develop consistent messaging to engage stakeholders and target audiences in the value and benefits of local urban wood products and promote the value-added opportunity for local businesses. Some municipalities have already incorporated urban wood into their sustainability plans and are utilizing their own wood for local use. The project hopes to support these existing efforts and to encourage similar efforts by other municipal sustainability and solid waste programs. These combined efforts ultimately increase long term carbon storage and avoid carbon emissions associated with burning or decomposing.

“By working together, we aim to increase demand for locally-sourced wood and wood products by the public and businesses,” said Nancy Stairs, Urban and Community Forestry Coordinator for the North Carolina Forest Service. “We want to help arborists and processors put urban wood to good use and reduce the amount of wood entering landfills.”

The Arbor Day Foundation
Founded in 1972, the Arbor Day Foundation has grown to become the largest nonprofit membership organization dedicated to planting trees, with more than one million members, supporters, and valued partners. During the last 45 years, more than 250 million Arbor Day Foundation trees have been planted in neighborhoods, communities, cities and forests throughout the world. Our vision is to help others understand and use trees as a solution to many of the global issues we face today, including air quality, water quality, climate change, deforestation, poverty and hunger. As one of the world’s largest operating conservation foundations, the Arbor Day Foundation, through its members, partners and programs, educates and engages stakeholders and communities across the globe to involve themselves in its mission of planting, nurturing and celebrating trees. More information is available at arborday.org

Society of Municipal ArboristsFounded in 1964, the SMA is an organization of municipal arborists and urban foresters. Our membership also includes consultants, commercial firms, nonprofits, tree boards, tree wardens, allied professionals, and citizens who actively practice or support some facet of municipal forestry. A professional affiliate of the International Society of Arboriculture, the SMA has members from across North America and beyond. Through our magazine, City Trees, our conferences, our website and our many active members, we strive to create networking and educational opportunities that promote the sound, professional management of a vital and invaluable resource. urban-forestry.com/

Tree Care Industry Association
The Tree Care Industry Association (TCIA) is a trade association of 2,300 tree care firms and affiliated companies and was established in 1938 as the National Arborist Association. The TCIA develops safety and education programs, standards of tree care practice and management information for tree and landscape firms around the world. We provide continuing education, training, conferences and publications to promote the safe and appropriate practice of tree care. tcia.org/

Utility Arborists Association
The UAA is an organization of over 4,200 individuals with interest in and a commitment to the maintenance of trees and other vegetation for the purpose of ensuring the safe and reliable distribution of energy, including electric, oil and gas, to business and residences. uaa.wildapricot.org

Right-of-Way Stewardship Council
Right-of-Way Stewardship Council is an accreditation program that is being pursued by a diverse group of stakeholders to provide standards of excellence for environmental stewardship along rights-of-way (ROW) and presents the opportunity for utility companies to demonstrate their commitment to such standards. It establishes standards for responsible ROW vegetation management within high-voltage electric transmission corridors. The aim of the program is to promote the application of integrated vegetation management and best management practices to the utility vegetation management industry in order to maintain power system reliability and address ecological concerns. www.rowstewardship.org

Dovetail Partners
Dovetail Partners provides authoritative information about the impacts and trade-offs of environmental decisions, including consumption choices, land use, and policy alternatives. Dovetail is a highly skilled team that fosters sustainability and responsible behaviors by collaborating to develop unique concepts, systems, models and programs. Dovetail Partners is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit corporation. dovetailinc.org

North Carolina Forest Service, Urban and Community Forestry Program
North Carolina’s forest land is one of the greatest influences on the state, providing economic value and adding immeasurably to the quality of life for its residents. The forest products industry is the largest manufacturing business sector in the state, contributing approximately $31.4 billion annually to the state’s economy and providing around 144,000 jobs for North Carolinians. The NC Forest Service’s primary purpose is to ensure adequate and quality forest resources for the state to meet its present and future needs. The U&CF Program supports urban forestry in North Carolina by administering a cost-share federal grant program for municipalities, local governments, non-profits, educational groups and schools and providing technical and/or educational assistance. ncforestservice.gov/Urban/Urban_Forestry

USDA Forest Service
The U.S. Forest Service manages 193 million acres of public land, provides assistance to state and private landowners, and maintains the largest forestry research organization in the world. Public lands the Forest Service manages contribute more than $13 billion to the economy each year through visitor spending alone. Those same lands provide 20 percent of the nation’s clean water supply, a value estimated at $7.2 billion per year. The agency has either a direct or indirect role in stewardship of about 80 percent of the 850 million forested acres within the U.S., of which 100 million acres are urban forests where most Americans live. fs.fed.us

The new website coincides with efforts to create a state-wide network of urban wood stakeholders from arborists and tree care professionals through sawyers and woodworkers. The Michigan Urban Wood Network will build on the foundation of the Urbanwood Project which began in 2005 as part of Recycle Ann Arbor and the Southeast Michigan Resource Conservation and Development Council’s efforts to encourage more recycling of dead urban trees, especially those killed by the emerald ash borer. Among other things, local member sawmills sell urban wood lumber and slabs through the Recycle Ann Arbor ReUse Center and Habitat of Humanity ReStores.

Membership to the Michigan Urban Wood Network is available to businesses, organizations and individuals interested in finding the highest and best use of Michigan’s urban forest resources. A listing on the group’s website is open to all who agree to the basic membership tenets of the Urban Wood Network.

Tom Hogard, a.k.a.,Tom The Sawyer, strikes again with another wonderful video documenting the milling of an urban tree into high-valued wood products. This time Hogard shows the milling of a honey locust tree destined to be used for custom live-edge tables. Hogard not only videos the entire milling process, he effectively uses removed from the Kansas City, KS, area to point out key processes and considerations of the log’s transformation.

Hogard said he shot the video preparing for a wood utilization program hosted by of the Missouri Department of Conservation, Kansas Forest Service and Bridging the Gap. It’s well worth a look!